Udupi: Bishop Gerald Lobo lays Foundation Stone for the construction of new Church at Udyavara

By Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 22 May 2014: In a solemn ceremony attended by dignitaries and parishioners, Bishop of Udupi Diocese Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo blessed and laid the foundation stone for the construction of new church building dedicated to St. Francis Xavier at Udyavara  on Thursday, 22 May 2014.  The Udyavara Parish has already celebrated 150 years of its existence and the old church that was built way back in 1909 by Blessed Msgr. Raymond Mascarenhas being 105 years old had to be rebuilt as the old church did not have enough capacity  to accommodate the ever increasing Catholic population of Udyavara.

 

 

 

Prior to the blessing and laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the new church building, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo concelebrated Holy Mass along with Rev. Fr. Fred Mascarenhas, Dean of Udupi Varado, Rev. Fr. Roque D’Souza, Parish Priest of Udyavara, Rev. Fr. Lawrence D’Almeida, Parish priest of Katapady, Rev. Fr. Charles Noronha, former Parish Priest of Udyavara, Rev. Fr. Reginald Pinto, Director of ‘Sampada’ and native of Udyavar and Rev. Fr. Roshan D’Souza (Holy Cross).  The Mass was offered in the parish hall as the old church except the main altar bearing the statue of St. Francis Xavier had already demolished to make way for the construction of the new church.

 

In his homily, Bishop Gerald Lobo traced the evolution of the ‘Place of Worship’ for Almighty God since the Old Testament. He said that the Jews used to have separate tent for worshipping God (Yehovah). It was King David who dreamt of building a magnificent temple to worship  God, but it was left to his son Solomon to build such a magnificent temple which took seven years to construct.

 

Bishop also referred to the relationship of Jesus with temple of God in His life by giving a number of examples. Further, the Bishop said that many people of Udyavara might have had the dream of having a new church, however, it was left to the present generation to take the bold step in constructing the new church. He asked the parishioners to build their spiritual life along with the construction of the new church building and said that the new church building should be inaugurated by October 2015 so that the feast of their patron saint, St. Francis Xavier could be celebrated with grandeur in the new church building on 3 December 2015.

 

 

Soon after the end of the Mass, the Bishop began the prayer service for the blessing and laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the new church building. Thereafter the people, priests and Bishop went in procession to the base of the old church and converged around the pit in front of the main altar where the foundation stone was to be laid.

 

Following the reading from the Holy Gospel, the Bishop blessed the base of the church. Later, he blessed the foundation stone in the cavity of which a copper plate mentioning about the date and the names of the Bishop, Parish Priest and Vice President of the Parish pastoral Council  during whose tenure the foundation stone was laid was sealed. Thereafter, the Bishop handed over the blessed stone to Lawrence D’Sa, Vice President of the Parish pastoral Council who in turn lowered it in the base of the pit.  The assembled priests and dignitaries-Oscar Fernandes-Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India and his wife Blossom Fernandes, Vinaya Kumar Sorake-Minister for Urban Development, Government of Karnataka, Vijaya Kumar Udyavara-President Udyavara Grama Panchayat and Jerry Dias-Founder and managing Director of Mandovi Builders and Developers participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony. A wooden Cross was also placed in the pit above the foundation stone.

 

The foundation stone laying ceremony was followed by the stage programme. Rev. Fr. Roque D’Souza, Parish priest of Udyavara welcomed the guests and dignitaries on the dais. During this occasion Oscar Fernandes inaugurated the Church Website that was developed by Melvyn Noronha; Vinaya Kumar Sorake released the Appeal for Donations for the construction of the new church building and Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo released the parish magazine titled ‘Udyavarcho Kurov’ presented by the editor-Mrs. Judith Fernandes and assistant editor-Godfrey D’Souza.

 

 

Speaking at this occasion, Oscar Fernandes narrated about the relation of his family with Udyavara saying that his father originally belonged to Udyavara and his son’s wife also belongs to Udyavara. He assured full support for the construction of the new church.

 

Vinaya Kumar Sorake in his message pointed out the contribution of Christians in the field of education. He also said that the coastal region has a number of temples, churches and mosques. He promised to contribute whatever amount he could from the MLA Developmental Fund for the improvement in the area. He also said that he has adopted the principle of donating one days salary for the construction of either church, temple or mosque in his constituency. He also assured that he would endeavour to help the church to avail whatever government funds set aside for the development of religious places.

 

Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA of Udupi assured his help for the construction of the new church building and promised financial assistance of one lakh of rupees for the project.

 

Jerry Dias in his address pointed out the difficulties in meeting the deadlines in the construction of churches. He said that if there is enough money, targets can be set. Recalling his relationship with the Udyavara Church since he was 11 years old as he used to attend annual feast every year, Jerry Dias promised ten lakhs of rupees as his donation to the construction of   the new church building.

 

In his presidential speech, Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo said that in Indian culture, places of worship have a distinct place. He said that Udupi has been known as the ‘Temple Town’. He wished the parishioners of Udyavara  well in constructing the new church building and reiterated the fact that with determination of the parishioners and flow of funds from generous donors, the target that he had set for the completion of the new church building would be met by the end of October 2015 and the feast of St. Francis Xavier would be celebrated with solemnity on 3 December 2015.

 

The architectural plan for the new church building has been provided by Danny Pinto, Tina Pinto and Yogishchandra of Western Architects, Udupi.

John D’Souza and Pushpa Tauro compeered the programme and Lawrence D’Sa, Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council proposed the vote of thanks.